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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. firm — decided
  3. row — a line
  4. bass — low music
  5. land — a country
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. court — of law
  8. bass — the fish
  9. cap — of ice
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cap — a lid
  12. hand — help
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. plane — a tool
  16. row — to paddle
  17. firm — a company
  18. cap — a hat
  19. land — to come down
  20. hand — in cards
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. land — ground
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. firm — steady

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com